[DCClancy]

What Is Ferro-Cement? For those who aren't familiar with Ferro Cement, it's a method of building in which the shell of the boat is built of a steel wire mesh and rod matrix, which is then permeated with a concrete mixture. The mortar is cured carefully to a minimum of 8,000 psi (to meet our specs). The resulting structure is a strong and rugged shell that will not burn, is not affected by ice, is resistant to chemical attack, and has a mortar that actually strengthens with age.

How Did It Get Started? The first ferro-cement boats were built in the middle 1800's and are still in a museum in Europe. World War I saw the building of large concrete ships, some of which I've seen still afloat as breakwaters. During World War II, some experimental vessels were built which proved the material on some good-sized working vessels and later on some yachts.

The building craze that began in the late 1960's was fueled mainly by promoters who spent more effort in selling franchises for their books and plans than in improving the technology. The few builders who built good quality boats often got overlooked with the vast numbers of amateur built boats sprouting up everywhere.

I had learned how to do it the right way while working for a licensee of the English Windboats Ltd. firm, who were the only ones building Lloyd's approved structures.

Following this experience, I did some additional work in the testing labs to develop a range of shell layups that would span the range of 12' to 90' designs we worked on. This knowledge gave us the technology to design much lighter and stronger boats than were commonly being done. It was an uphill battle to get people to recognize that chicken wire was not the best choice, though in the end almost everyone ended up using the same square welded mesh that we did.


PRACTICAL FERRO-CEMENT BOATBUILDING

After a bit of this development and designing work, I teamed up and co-authored a book on the subject, titled Practical Ferro-Cement Boatbuilding. It was quite well received and widely distributed, going through 11,000 copies in four separate editions. This book covered the ideas, tools and techniques that we had developed to build lighter and better ferro-cement boats.

This book has been out-of-print for a long time now, though I still am able to occasionally pick up a copy in a used bookstore. Thus, we have a very few copies that we keep for those who are determined, usually against our advice, to build in ferro-cement.

What Ever Happened To Ferro-Cement? Too many people who read Samson's ads saying they could build the hull and deck of a 45-footer for $2,000 didn't realize that was only the beginning of the money they would have to spend to make a complete boat. It usually took ten times that much to fully outfit the boat in those days.

Also, their publications stressed how easy and quick they were to build. Too many of the resulting boats looked like the builders took that advice literally. They were - and still are, for how do you dispose of cement? - an eyesore, enjoying very low, if any, resale value. Their being readily identifiable as ferro-cement has given a bad name to all ferro-cement boats. The good ones were always mistaken for wooden or custom fiberglass boats, and thus no credit was given to the medium of ferro-cement.

So, although it is still a viable way to build a tough and long-lasting boat, I have not been able to give it an unqualified recommendation for some time. It is very frustrating for me and much more so for the owners of the good boats to find that they can't get the same return on their invested time and money than if they had built in wood or fiberglass.

Do You Still Sell Plans For Ferro-Cement? Yes, but only when we've given the caution above to the prospective buyers. Most of our few remaining ferro-cement sales are now going overseas where there is still a bit more viable market for the finished boats.

What About Buying A Used Ferro-Cement Boat? With the negative attitudes prevailing about ferro-cement boats, their prices are usually quite low. The only problem in buying one is the difficulty in doing a proper survey. This is a two-part problem with the lack of many experienced surveyors and the difficulty of knowing what few clues to look for in the survey. If the seller has photos documenting the whole of the construction of the armature and the plastering, this is a big help. It they did mortar sampling and testing to assure the correct mortar strength this helps to prove the quality of the initial construction.

From there, it is a matter of looking at the level of finish and fairness of the structure, the quality of the detailing of how things are attached to the structure, and if there are any visible clues to maintenance work that has been overlooked. If you can find a good one that can be used as is and without any major investment in finishing it or adding equipment, then you might have some hope of reselling it later without loosing all your investment.